Gun mounting



Jan. 11, 1949. L. MQTLEY 2,458,956

GUN MOUNT ING Filed July 16, 1945 6 Sl'aeets-Sheetl l Jan.- 11, 1949.

y L. MoTLr-:Y

GUN MOUNTING Filed July 1e, `194? y 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 237 we ivf",

L. MOTLEY GUN MOUNTING Jan. 11, 1949.

6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 16, 1945 Jan. 11, 1949. L. MoTLEY 2,458,956'

GUN MOUNTING Filed July 16, 194:5 e Sheets-sheet 4 Jan. 11, 1949. 1M01-LEY v 2,458,956

GUN MQUNT ING Filed July 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 11, 1949.

L.. MOTLEY GUN MOUNTING- 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed July 16, 1945 PatentedJan. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES 'Ti-ENT OFFlCE Application .July .16, 1943,.Serial No. 494,992 In Great Britain June 2.6, 19.42

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates .to gun mountings, particularly vbut lnotexclusively for rapid nre guns and -guns for antiaircraft purposes. Theobject of the invention is Vthe provision of van improved gun mountingwhich will enable the gunner to he ,fully protected by armour.

In accordance with the invention the mounting .is of the kind in whichthe gun is pivotally .mounted for elevationona supporting unit which inturn .is rotatably mounted for traverse on a relatively viixed base, themovement of the gun for elevation being effected, through lthe medium ofa suitable transmission, by means of a handle mounted on said supportingunit, and the invention resides in the arrangement that the relatively,nxed base takes 4the form of an armoured chamber and Vthe supportingunit is mounted on the roof :of said armoured chamber at or in anopening in :said roof whereby the :actuation of the handle for elevationand Athe rotation of the supporting unit for Vtraverse are both effectedfrom within said chamber.

,In order that the invention may be the more clearly understood certaingun mountings in accordance therewith will now ,be described, referencebeing :made to the accompanying drawings 'wherein- Figure 1 is a sideelevation, shown partly in section, .of amounting in accordance with the'invention for twin guns, the guns -being shown elevated atan angle ofabout 45.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same to a somewhat larger scale, theguns being horizontal.

Figure 3 is a plan of the same scale as Figure 2, `with the yguns .againhorizontal.

Figure 4 'is a side elevation shown largely in section of a `mountingv'in accordance with Ithe invention, the gun being elevated `at an angleof vover 45.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vsection `on line A--Bof :Figure-4.

Figure .6 -is a Jfront elevation of Figure 4, with the gun horizontal.

Figure '7 is a plan ci `'the same with the ygun horizontal, part of thetop hamper being reaontal axis .'X-JX for elevation, on a .member 3which extends, as shown, upwardly yand rearwardly from the upper end lofa vertical ytubular shaft ll which passes down through the said roof ,lAof the .tank land has its lower end just inside the ltank as shown.rThis tubular shaft is rotatable about its axis for traverse of theguns. .The rotation of said tubular shaft for ,traverse .and also rtherotation of the guns about the axis X--X for elevation :are botheffected from inside the tank as will hereinafter appear, and lthus thegunner is protected by the tank ar- 4mour.

The transmission for rotation oi the guns in elevation icomprises anaxially movable rod 5 vpassing through the tubular shaft .4 and havingrack teeth .6 formed at its upper projecting portion, a ,pinion 'lmounted `on .the part 3 and in mesh with said rack teeth, a toothedquadrant `8 rigid on the shaft of said pinion 1, a pinion S also mountedon the part 3 and in mesh with said toothed quadrant, and a toothedquadrant IB also mounted on the part 3 coaxial with the axis X--X andrigid with the Atwo guns. Thus as the rod 5 rmoves upwardly the guns aredepressed, and as said rod moves downwardly .said guns are elevated.

For moving the rod 5 up Yand down in the tubular shaft 4 the lowerprojecting end Iof said rod is formed with rack .teeth Il, and a pinionI2 rotatably mounted, about a horizontal axis Vparallel to thatof thepinion l, between two parallel lugs i3 which are rigid on the lower lend,of :the 'tubular shaft 4, is in -mesh with said .rack teeth H. Theshaft of this pinion yI2 has mounted -on its two ends which projectbeyond Vthe vlugs I3 Itwo hand levers-I4 which are ada-pt ed to be heldin the Atwo hands of the gunner. -By means of these handles ld thepinion l2 is ,adapted to .be rotated, the rod 5 moved up and down, andthe ,-guns 2 accordingly vmoved ,in elevation. if the pinions Yl2 and .lare made equal in size, and ii .the quadrants 8 and l' vare lalso madeequal iin size, the angles of movement of fthe vhand levers i4 about'the axis oi the pinion t2 will be equal Ato the angles oi movement ot,the'gun in elevation.

It will be seen thatthe hand levers lll serve to move the gun intraverse as well as in elevation, since if the levers are moved aroundthe vertical axis of the shaft Ll, said shaft d, and therefore the part3 and the guns, will rotate in lone piece with rsaid hand levers .aboutsaid axis.

In construction it will be seen that the mem ber ..3 .has a shorttubular bottom por-tion which is clamped von to the upper 'end of thetubular shaft 4 by means of a clamping device I5. The portion of thetubular shaft 4 extending downwardly from the member 3 passes coaxiallythrough a. xed supporting column I6 which is rigidly mounted on the roofI of the tank over the hole I1 through which said shaft passes and whichis provided with journal 'bearings for said shaft as will be clear fromthe drawing. The down thrust is taken by the bottom portion of themember 3 resting on the top of said support ing column.

It will be seen that the member 3 extends iirst' upwardly and thenrearwardly from its bottom tubular portion and is hollowed for theaccommodation of the upper end of the rod 5 and also for the pinion 1.The quadrant 8, pinion 9 and quadrant I are all mounted on one side ofsaid member 3 as will be. clear from the drawings. The quadrant I0,which rigidly supports the guns and all the parts that move with them,is pivotally mounted on the part 3 by means of a heavy pivot pin whichpasses through a boss I8 on said part 3.

For securing the guns to the quadrant I0 the latter is formed with arearward plate extension I9 whereby it is rigidly secured, in a mannerwhich will be sufficiently understood from the drawings, to a strongtubular longitudinal frame member 2B extending fore and aft parallel tothe guns. The frame member 20 at its forward end supports a transversetubular frame member 2|, and, near its rear end a similar transverseframe member 22. The frame member 2l carries two forward xtures 23 tomate with corresponding forward ttings of the respective guns, and theframe member 22 carries two rear fixtures 24 to mate with correspondingrear fittings of the respective guns.

The mounting is provided with a fore sight 25 and a rear sight 26mounted respectively on the frame members 2I and 22. The gunner isenabled to observe these sights through a slot or slots formed in theroof of the tank. The guns are particularly intended to operate againstaircraft and therefore the gunner, while remaining in the tank, will beable to place his eye in the line of the sights.

The ring of the guns is effected by means of triggers 21 mounted on therespective handles I 4 through the medium of respective Bowden wires 28passing up through small slots in the rod as shown. The frame 20 at itsrear extremity has a transverse frame member 29 rigidly mounted on it,and this frame member 29 carries a centre bracket 30 and two endbrackets 3I whereby two coaxial transverse rocking shafts 32 aresupported. Adjacent the centre bracket 3U each rocking shaft has adownwardly depending arm 33 rigidly mounted on it, and, beyond the endbrackets 3I, each rocking shaft has an arm 34 rigidly mounted on it. TheBowden wires 28 are respectively connected to the arms 33, and wheneither Bowden wire is tensioned by the respective trigger 21 therespective rocking shaft 32 is rocked and the respective arms 34 operateto nre the respective gun. Each gun continues to nre as long as itsrespective trigger is actuated.

It will be seen that, in construction, the securement of the hand leversI4 to the projecting ends of the shaft of the pinion i2 is effectedthrough the medium of two collars 35 which are secured on the ends ofsaid shaft and have quadrant plates 36 attached to them in a plane atright angles to that of the pinion. The hand levers I4 have bifurcatedends, and each bifurcated end straddles a respective quadrant plate 36and is pivoted to it by means of a pivot 31 concentric with the quadrantarc. Notches are provided on the quadrant edge as shown and the handlevers I4 are provided with spring loaded catches which engage in saidnotches to retain the hand levers in xed relationship to the quadrants.While in use the hand levers are secured in the conveniently spreadposition illustrated in Figure 2. When not in use they are raised to thehorizontal position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 at which they areout of the way near .to the roof of the tank.

When the guns are not in use the mounting is adapted to be parked withthe guns horizontal and pointing forwardly as shown in Figures 2 and 3.In this position an arm 38 which is pivoted at one end to the base ofthe xed column I6, and which has manually releasable spring jaws 39 atits other end as shown, can be raised from the out-of-the-way horizontalposition indicated in dotted lines to the position shown in full linesin Figure 1 where its jaws engage and retain the centre of the framemember 2|.

Referring lnow to Figures 4 to 8 the gun 40, which is an anti-aircraftgun, is pivotally mounted about an axis Y--Y for movement in elevation,on the top of a pedestal part 4I which, at its bottom end, is rotatablymounted about a vertical axis for movement in traverse on the roof 42 ofa fixed armoured chamber which forms a protective housing for thegunner.

The gunner, lwithin this armoured chamber, sits on a bucket type of seat43 which is suspended rigidly from said pedestal part 4I and thus, foreffecting movement of the gun in traverse, the gunner simply swivelshimself and his seat and thereby swivels the pedestal part 4| and thegun 40 which is mounted thereon. For eiecting movement of the gun inelevation, a transmission mechanism is provided extending between thegun on the one hand and two handles 44 for the gunner on the other, bymovement of which handles relative to the seat structure and pedestalpart 4I the gun is elevated and depressed. Means are provided whereby,by depression of a trigger on one of said handles 44, the gun is red.The gun is of the automatic type which continues firing so long as thetrigger is depressed.

To enable the gunner to sight the gun on the target his head extends up,as shown in Figure 4, through the roof 42 of the armoured chamber intothe hollow lower portion of the pedestal part 4I. This lower portion ofthe pedestal part is armoured for the protection of the gunners head andthe armour includes a thick pane 45 of toughened glass immediately infront of the gunners face. Located suitably in the gunners line ofvision are back and fore sights 46 and 41 mounted on a frame 48 which,at its rear end, is pivoted at 49 on each side of the pedestal part 4Iso as to rotate about an axis parallel to the elevation axis Y-Y of thegun, and which is linked, by means of links 5U, to the gun cradle 5I soas to move with the sights always in a line parallel to the gun.

In construction the pedestal part 4I consists primarily of twoupstanding side plates 4Ia in the form each of a right angled trianglewith its shortest edge horizontal and underneath and its sloping edgeforwards as best shown in Figure 4. These side plates each extendvertically upwards to the line 9:, then slope towards one another to theline y andythen' again extend vertically `up wards to theirxapexesggand:the upper portions assunse 'of said side plates Ma -carry bearings vforthe trunnions .of the .gun .cradle 5l whereby the .latter rotates aboutthe axis Y-Y. .Armour plate lfb extends between the back edges of said'two .side plates die up to the level .shown .in Figure 4, .and armourplate lc extends between .the Jfront'edges of said .two side plates lilaupto the level -iof ithe lines y. The glass pane 45 is. as shown, letlinto the'armourplate Mc.

At their .lower ends the four plates Ma, A-l'b, 41e forming the`.pedestal part 41 are rigidly secured to .a .horizontal bearing .ring'52 lying within their connues, :by means of Vangle pieces 5?, Iandth'isbearing ring bears rotatably, through the medium .of a ball race 5d, ona base ring '55 'which Iis .mounted around an opening .in ythe roof 42of the :armoured chamber. Thus .said pedestal part VVAcan swivel veryfreely for traverse on Athe .roof 422 and ithe gunner can project hishead `into the armoured space in the lower portion of said pedestalpart.

For rigidly suspending the seat i3 from the .pedestal lpartiti the twoside angle pieces 53 are 'each made integral with a downwardlydepend-ing vertical socket 5G (Figure 5), and, into these sockets '56,are inserted the upwardly projecting ends of a tubular frame structure51 which supports the `'seat fas will be clear from the drawing. vSaidupwardly projecting 'ends of the frame structure i `are secured in saidsockets 56 by means of .a

'transverse pin '53. The seat also has .aback portion '59 vwhich extendsupwardly and rests .freely against the inside of the bearing ring 42.

The aforesaid 4transmission mechanism for -eiiiecting movement of thegun in elevation consists lof two parallel transmission trains vfro'mthetwo aforesaid handles '4 to the two respective trunnions of -t-he guncradle 5i. Each of these transmission trains comprises an upper pinion-60 rigidly mounted on the respective trunnion .on

which is integral with the angle piece 53, .socket `56 and lugs 52, .andan upper bearing 5.5 which is mountedon the side plate Mu. It will .beseen that reach rack EE throughout the major part of its length lieswithin lthe armoured chamber and the pedestal part lll. Towards itsupper extremity it passes through a hole S6 in the sloping ypart of thevplate lila. The bearing 565 is on the -outside of said plate da. Itwill be seen that, as the handles '44 are pulled downwardly, the racks'B3 will move upwardly and the gun will 'be depressed. Conversely whenthe handles are pushed 'upwardly Vthe Agun will vbe elevated. By makingthe pinions i613 'and ffi of the same size the angular movements of thegun will always be the same as the angular movements oi the handles.

IThe iiring of 'the gun is effected by means of a `trigger 'Si pivotedon one .ofthe handles i4 and .connected through a Bowden wire 68 (shownbroken away in Figure 4) 'with the ihu'ng mechanism of the gun. Thereference 68a designates a counterweight for balancing the gun.

The armoured chamber is, as shown, roughly in the form oi a truncatedpyramid, having a rela tively small flat roof 42 and expanding towardsthe :ground .so .as to form room rfor the legs vand feet rolf thegunner. .In .the :ar-rangementr shown the ilat roof 42 is square 'and'is supported at its flour `corners :by four massive tubular legs B9which incline outwardly towards vthe :ground and terminate in feet 'l0which are vertically .adjustable to admit of mounting on uneven ground`with the llatroof 42 level. The chamber is :completed as shown by 'fourtruncated triangular sheets oi armour 'lil mounted on these four legs bymeans of screws 12. This .side armour will .afford unite adequateprotectionwithout extending 'right down tothe ground.

Figure 9 .shows the .manner in which .the legs 69 are secured to thecorners of the flat roof d2. Thus ratieac-h corner the .ilat roof has asplit tubular socket i3, secured on its under `side and .in these.sockets the horizontally bent upper vends of the legs 69 t. Each socket13 is adapted to be tightened on the vend of the respective leg 69 bymeans of a screw I4 'and in addition a transverse pin l5 is providedadapted :to transf-ix the socket and leg as shown.

When the Igun mounting is to be transported, the side larmour 'H isremoved from the legs Iby unscrewing the vscrews 12; the legs 69 areremoved from the dat roof vr4.2 by unscrewing the screws 'lil :andremoving the pins l5, and the seat structure is removed by taking outthe pins 53. The flat roof 42 is then mountedby means of .an oppositepair Iof Ithe sockets 13 on two tubular legs "i6 bearing road wheels "l1at their :lower ends. A third one vof the tubular ysockets "i3 has astraight horizontal tubular coupling rod i8 clamped in yit whose other:end :is adapted to be` coupled vat l5 to a vtowing vehicle. To ensurethat the legs 7S shall remain ,rigidly in place, they and :the :cou-

pling rod T8 'are provided with tments Si) .for

links 8l whereby .said legs 1.6 are linked to said coupling .rod 18. Thepedestal .part 4l and gun lill are then swung round the traverse axisuntil the gun `faces diametrically oppositely to the link member 18,:and the gun is turned about its velevation axis until Ait is horizontalat :the position .illustrated in Figure 8. At vthis position the .gun.is lixed `by means of a tubular parking member clamped at one end inthe remaining socket 7.3 yand secured :at its other end to the -gun asshown fin Figure 8. It will be seen that except that the foot "I9 `hasbeen replaced by a fastening ydevice 83 :this parking member may be thesame as one of the legs 69.

In -this way the gun mounting ycan .be safely 'transported Iwith easeover relatively rough ground, the removed side armour "H, legs te andthe seat structure being lstowed in the towing vehicle.

It w-ill be obvious that the gun lmounting illustrated Iin Figures 4toil vcould be mounted on a tank or armoured 'ear instead of on thelfixed armoured chamber. Thus -the flat roof 'k12 would become the roof-of the tank and 'the gunners seat 43 would vbe vsuspended down into thetank f geary train between ythe handles 44 (which could bedesigned tomake several rotations)r andthe rack 63 so as to increase thismechanical ativan# tage still further.

` Again theseat 43 couldbe dispensedwith'so l .f

' including a main armored chamber provided with f a roof having anopening therein kof a size v,at

that the gunner stands` Within the armoured f chamber.; lIn this kcasehe could rock the pedestal part 4l either bymoving the handles 44 bodilyroundwith said pedestal. part or through the mediurnoi gearing as justdescribed.

considerable' mechanical advantage in; movingy It may also be foundpreferable ,to locate the;

elevating axis Y-Y vertically over the traverse vaxis A-BObviouslyinstead of one guntwc or moreguns movingas a unit couldbeemployed. What lI jclaim randdesire to secure by Letters Patentisz 1..Ink a gun-mounting of the class described, Iincludingv amain armoredchamber provided with a roof having an opening therein of a size atleasty suiiicently large tok accommodate the ,passage of v the head ofagunner therethrough, an auxiliary head-protecting armored chambermounted 2 on the roof oi the main armored chamber over the z`vopeningaforesaidk and freely rotatable bodily relative thereto, said auxiliarychamber havingr l control; members disposed within the main chamber inspaced relation to eachother and respecte f f tively geared to the rackmembers of the parallel 'transmission' trains, said hand-kcontrolmembers" being mounted on the auxiliary ychamber for f bodily movement,therewith. s

3. Iny a gun mountingof the class described,

least suihciently large to accommodate'the pas-- sage of the head of agunnertherethrougnl an auxiliary headprotecting armored chamber fmounted on the roof of the main armored chamber over the vopeningaforesaid and freely rotaty ber having provision for pivotally mountinga gun thereon formovement inelevationrelatlve able bodilyrelativethereto, said auxiliary chamthereto about aL horizontal axis,withthe vgun y kdisposed wholly :outside of both armored chambers, andsaid gunlrleing also: freely movable in traverse :about `a vertical axisresponsive to rota tion .of the auxiliary chamber, the combination oftransmission means extending Llironrthe gun toa point outsideof theauxiliary chamber and provision for pivotally mounting a gun thereon* ly yiormovement in elevation relative thereto about a horizontal axis,with the gun kdisposed Wholly outside of `both armored chambers, andsaid gun v, beingalso kfreely movable in traverse about a:

vertical axis responsive tol rotation of the; aux- :iliary chamber, thecombination of transmission v means kextending trom the gun to a pointoutside of theauxiliarychamber andaccessible to the gunner` fromwithinthe mainvarmored chamber on opposite sides of the latter, and apair of hand# vcontrol members disposed within the main chamber inspaced relation to each other and respetav vtively geared tothe rackmembers of the parallel for adjusting the gun in elevaton,sad transmission means comprising a longitudinally shiftable rack member gearedat the outside of the auxiliary chamber to the gun, at one end, and ahand-control member disposed within the main armored chamber and gearedto the rack member at its other end, said hand-control member beingmounted on the auxiliary chamber for bodily movement therewith.

2. In a gun mounting of the class described, including a main armoredchamber provided with a roof having an opening therein of a size atleast suiciently large to accommodate the passage of the head of agunner therethrough, an auxiliary head-protecting armored chambermounted on the roof of the main armored chamber over the openingaforesaid and freely rotatalble bodily relative thereto, said auxiliarychamber having provision for pvotally mounting a gun thereon formovement in elevation relative thereto about a horizontal axis, with thegun disposed wholly outside of both armored chambers, and said gun beingalso freely movable in traverse about a vertical axis responsive torotation of the auxiliary chamber, the combination of transmission meansextending from the gun to a point outside of the auxiliary chamber andaccessible to the gunner from within thev main armored chamber foradjusting the gun in elevation, said transmission means comprising twoparallel transmission trains, each including a longitudinally shiftablerack member geared to the gun at the outside of the auxiliary chamber onopposite sides of the latter, and a pair of handaccessible to the gunnerfromwithin themain armored chamber for adjusting thegun. in velevaton,said transmission means comprisingtwo parallel transmission trains, eachincluding ai longitudinally shi'ftable l rack mernbfn' geared to the gunat the. outside of the auxiliary chamber transmission trains, saidhand-control members comprising handlevers pivotally mounted on the iauxiliary chamber and bodily movablewth'the auxiliary chamber forvadjusting the gun in traverse, and said transmission trains'beingcperable by pivotal movement of the hand levers for adjusting the gun inelevation.

LEWIS MOTLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file ofthis patent: l

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